North Texas existing-home sales rose 3 percent in July, but the low inventory of homes for sale is starting to affect sales for the year, according to the latest report from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

In July, 9,578 homes were sold in the 29-county North Texas region, but sales have fallen 1 percent for the first seven months of the year, to 52,709 homes, the report said. Data for the report is compiled from the industry’s Multiple Listing Service.

The median sales price was $196,500 for the month, a 7 percent jump. For the year so far, the median sales price is $185,000, also up 7 percent.

As fewer homes are listed, the number of days it takes to sell has dropped. Last month, homes that sold were on the market only 44 days, down 10 percent from a year ago. For the year so far, homes have been on the market only 52 days on average, a 12 percent decline from the same period last year.

The number of active listings in July was 22,827, down 7 percent from a year ago. For the year, the number of active listings fell 9 percent, and the number of pending sales was flat at 49,840 for the first seven months.

In Tarrant County, sales were strong in northeast Arlington and Colleyville, and in downtown Fort Worth, where sales of condos and town homes rose 160 percent to 13 units.